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Dynamo rally to playoff-clinching victory

Photo by ISIPhotos.com

The Houston Dynamo needed a second-half rally, but eventually found the form they needed to take all three points and secure their place in the Eastern Conference playoffs.

Goals from Oscar Boniek Garcia and Brad Davis in the final 20 minutes helped the Dynamo register a 3-1 victory against the Philadelphia Union at BBVA Compass Stadium on Saturday night.

Macoumba Kandji opened the scoring in the fifth minute, but Jack McInerney continued his recent hot streak with a header goal in the 19th minute to tie things up for the Union.

The sides battled for much of the match, with the Union struggling to generate chances as the Houston midfield controlled possession. The Dynamo generated chances but didn’t break through until the 70th minute, when Garcia blasted a 20-yard shot past MacMath to make the score 2-1.

Just three minutes later, a questionable penalty call set up the Dynamo’s third goal when Carlos Valdes was whistled for a foul on Will Bruin in the penalty area. Brad Davis converted the spot kick to seal the victory.

Here are the match highlights:

What did you think of the match? Starting to think Jack McInerney is the real deal? See the Dynamo making another run to the MLS Cup Final?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. Glad the Dynamo wrapped it up I was not looking forward to a road Colorado must-game. Outside of the goals Houston did not look sharp, was struggling to possess the ball. That needs to be fixed. But effective on the result.

    I think Adu’s best years were as a DCU role player. I think the mistake is making him “the man.” He’s decent technically but not a work horse or a speedster.

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  2. Adu needs to leave Union. The chemistry between him and other players is not on point and the vibe is even worst…….which is totally evident when Mclnerney scored. He equalize after a goal down yet there was no celebration between him and Adu…..none at all. There is something really wrong with the team than meets the eye. How is Philly suppose to do well if their lead striker and attacking midfielder are not on good terms……

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    • I’d be frustrated too if I was him.

      He gets blamed for all of their problems and gets mediocre praise when he saves them. That team needs to be completely blown up.

      Every time one of the wingers gets the ball they just sprint up the wing and turn it over. The left back and right back can barely complete a pass. That Gaddis guy could barely complete a 10 yard pass, it was incredible to watch. The ball rarely if ever went into the middle of the pitch and players would just try and go on 1 v 1 runs all over the pitch.

      It’s like watching a 22 year old play with a U16 squad. You can see the style of play differences and the coach clearly is doing nothing to reconcile it. Adu tries to settle the ball and get people forward whenever it comes to him. He holds it for a moment and lets people move–since they weren’t moving off-ball before as it is.

      Houston was smart and they swarmed Adu with 3-4 guys almost every time he touched the ball. Granted that’s not very difficult when Houston has 5 guys in the midfield and Philly had Adu as the only player except McInerny in the attacking half. And when Philly needs to get a goal they inexplicably take Adu out and put in a defensive player. Of course the midfield got trolled after that.

      I’m not surprised to see Adu get frustrated. He’s got more talent than any 3 of his teammates combined and he just has to sit alone up top with the striker stranded or move way out of position into his own half to even touch the ball. And when he gets the ball he’s the furthest player forward and nobody is moving near him.

      That entire team is just a disaster. They were so much more successful when they had Adu pulling the strings with intelligent strikers and midfielders who were actively involved and making smart runs off the ball.

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      • I’ll agree that Philly needs to be blown up and start over, but I think you’re giving Adu too much credit to be honest. He has simply underperformed and a lot of that is on him. Honestly, when was the last time he made a decent impact on a season? 2005? 2006? Blame that on others all you want, but I think it’s wrong. Freddy has dropped off completely. It’s sad to watch.

      • He was actually really good at Aris in the Greek league and he was good for Philly last year before they just got rid of all their good players.

      • Kris, like Liga said how can you make an impact on a TEAM that has but a couple of good players, and they can’t give you any service up front? To add to that their defense is a mess. A player on a team is only as good as the quality around him, especially for a forward. Its either play selfishly and show your attributes which will bring the media and fans down on him, or just go with the flow

      • “He’s got more talent than any 3 of his teammates combined”

        LOL
        Adu has like three games in the last four years for the US team.
        Carlos Valdez plays regularly for the Colombian national team, genius.

    • McInerney finished his chance and looked somewhat dangerous. 4 goals in 4 games. Adu blew a 2 on 1 jailbreak and seems to me to be the one that is disliked by his teammates, ie, maybe he is the chemistry problem. 1 assist all season for a supposed setup man. Pulled in the second half for Gabriel Gomez.

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  3. Penalty call sucks for Philly but before people go into their usual whining about MLS refs, that is a really tough call. A fraction of a second sooner and it’s a legit penalty. It’s only questionable with five replay angles and slow motion and all that, but any human in real time would pretty much be guessing, and at full speed it did look like a penalty.

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